Economic development, housing, and climate change were among the key issues discussed by Esquimalt–Saanich–Sooke candidates during the riding’s first all-candidate forum amid the 2025 federal election campaign.
The Sooke Region Chamber of Commerce and the Otter Point, Shirley, Jordan River Residents and Ratepayers Association hosted the event at Sooke Community Hall on April 13.
In front of a packed crowd, only four of the seven candidates running in this year’s election were present. Maja Tait (NDP), Ben Homer-Dixon (Green), Robert Crooks (Communist), and Parmar Bhatti (Independent) took part in the event, while Stephanie McLean (Liberal), Grant Cool (Conservative), and Nikita Heurtier (PPC) were absent.
The two-hour event opened with a question on housing and affordability. Homer-Dixon proposed a national affordable housing plan while curbing foreign influence on the Canadian housing market. Bhatti proposed a federally backed municipal trust fund to support non-market housing co-ops, while Tait called for greater inter-governmental cooperation, scrapping the Liberal accelerator program and replacing it with a national housing strategy. Crooks labelled “housing as a human right” and called for building federally funded and publicly owned housing.
When asked about investing in local infrastructure to promote economic growth in the region, Tait said she would seek to reform both Employment Insurance and how GST for small businesses, placing women at the forefront of her politics. Crooks favoured bringing back manufacturing and secondary industries to stimulate local economies.
Homer-Dixon called for increased investment in green energy infrastructure, public transit to reduce reliance on “car-centric urban design” and emphasized the need for greater urban density and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Amid a tariff war with the U.S., candidates were asked how they would reduce inter-provincial trade barriers to support local businesses.
Homer-Dixon pushed for a promotion of domestic resources to encourage the Canadian economy and, by the same token, reduce challenges for small businesses.
Arguing that “small businesses are the backbone of this riding,” Tait argued that the latter deserved fewer barriers to deal with other provinces.
“Let's work together to cut the red tape, reduce the regulatory inconsistencies while bolstering local entrepreneurs,” she said.
Crooks went against the grain, proposing that reducing inter-provincial trade barriers would only benefit “finance capitalists.”
“This is what corporate interests want to get rid of,” he said. “This is not gonna be good for small businesses. This is gonna be good for big corporations.
“I think we should be careful about what we're asking for… I'm not convinced that it'll be better for small businesses.”
Responding to a question on truth and reconciliation and the candidates’ plans to address decolonization, Bhatti said he would advocate for an approach rooted in respect of Indigenous leadership with sustained actions, rather than “symbolic gestures,” while pushing for a full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 recommendations.
Tait called for listening to the riding’s Indigenous leaders in informing her approach.
“All of the Nations have a voice that needs to be heard and for all of us to recognize the harms of the residential school and the healing that must come with that but it continues to this day,” she said.
Likewise, Homer-Dixon fully supported First Nations' rights, self-determination, and sovereignty of Indigenous groups, as well as the revision of the constitution to better reflect their importance.
The forum concluded with a question about how each candidate plans to address the ongoing opioid crisis.
Tait proposed a dual approach of working with the police agencies as well as pushing for readily available treatment, providing substance users with the support they need.
Crooks argued that policing isn’t the solution to the issue.
“We need to understand that the drug addiction crisis is a health problem and not a criminal problem,” he said.
Similarly, Homer-Dixon supported a harm reduction and treatment approach to deal with the crisis.
“We can't half commit to this,” he said. “The drugs are out on the streets. We can try to police the problem away [and] target the cause, but the symptoms will still be there.
“What we need right now is a focus on rehabilitation, safe consumption sites for users, and drug testing.”
In her closing statement, Tait said she was “disappointed” that the riding’s other contenders did not attend the event.
“This is one of the only opportunities, with the election just over two weeks tomorrow, for all of us to be able to compare and contrast the various platforms,” she said.
The federal election is set for April 28. Esquimal-Saanich-Sooke residents can vote in advance from April 18 to 21.
